It’s the holiday season: time for small businesses to plan their annual parties and give employees a chance to celebrate, unwind and get to know one another better, right? The correct answer is yes, but. But you need to make sure that employees understand they are still at a work-related…
The Federal Communications Commission will vote December 14 on whether to repeal so-called “net neutrality” rules. Those in favor of the current rules, established in 2015, say this would mean a playing field tilted toward those with money to pay Internet service providers for rapid content delivery speeds, giving them…
The new iPhone X uses facial recognition instead of a thumb print. That is cool, right? Not so fast. Facial recognition software is just one of a group of metrics that is referred to biometrics, which includes facial scans, fingerprints and iris scans and all verification or identification data excluding…
Under a new Illinois law, non-compete agreements must be premised on a legitimate business interest and narrowly tailored in terms of time, activity, and place. In addition, under the newly enacted Illinois Freedom to Work Act, employers are prohibited from entering into non-competes with employees who make less than $13/hour.…
Can Student Loans Ever Be Discharged? Yes, and there’s a new tool to help bankruptcy lawyers deter mine whether clients qualify Contrary to common perception, not all student loans can be wiped out in bankruptcy court. Although the Bankruptcy Code does protect federal loans and some private loans from discharge,…
BIG WOES FOR ZILLO Zillo, the gigantic online real-estate database company, has a gigantic headache, legally speaking. It is currently the target of a class action lawsuit in Illinois. Zillow is the website that allows a person to search for properties for sale–properties located just about anywhere. And Zillow’s cornerstone feature–Zestimate–allows…
CYBER-SECURITY–A VITAL PRECAUTION It is time for businesses to give cyber-crime protection high priority; the sooner the better. The mounting numbers of cyber-attacks on businesses are a serious threat to every sort of commercial enterprise. Cyber intrusions have become really dangerous, sophisticated, and commonplace. Businesses are attacked (whether they know…
Are Threats on Social Media Protected Free Speech? In our information age – the Age of Google, you might say – everybody knows that free speech is protected by the first amendment. And many believe that one can say whatever one wants on social media. THIS IS SIMPLY NOTE TRUE…
2016 Tax Bills Coming Soon: Here’s What You Can Expect The Cook County Clerk recently published 2016 property tax rates. This is the final step in the billing process. Second installment 2016 tax bills will be mailed by the end of June and will be due on August 1, 2017. Here…
DRIVERLESS CARS: THE FUTURE OF PRODUCT LIABILITY LITIGATION? Any business that will contribute to the production of driverless vehicles must give serious thought to the risk of products-liability lawsuits. And that includes suppliers, even of minor parts. We may think of driverless cars as a phenomenon of the future, but that…